Data prepared by
Racing Victoria
shows that online corporate bookmakers have won a large chunk of market share from TABs in the past 12 months.

The data, seen exclusively by The Australian Financial Review, shows total national turnover on Victorian thoroughbred horse racing in the past 12 months is almost $4.8 billion.

Figures reveal the corporate bookmakers have grown their revenue by 16 per cent since November 2012, taking 4 per cent market share from the TABs around Australia – which are still the biggest source of wagering – and the on-course bookmakers.

Racing Victoria chief executive
­Bernard Saundry
said the figures showed the importance of both the organisation’s joint venture with ­
Tabcorp
in Victoria and its relationship with the corporate bookmakers, towards which the industry has been adversarial at times in the past.

“That is where the growth is, so we have to work closely with the corporate bookmakers to grow the overall ­market," Mr Saundry said.

Racing Victoria says the national wagering market is worth about $25 billion annually. And as the Victorian product has a steady market share of about 20 per cent, that makes it the state with the largest number of horse racing betting wagers placed.

Victorian racing bets come from all over

Of the almost $4.8 billion wagered on Victorian racing, about $3.2 billion comes from the TABs across the country; that includes those owned by
Tabcorp
,
Tatts Group
,
ACTTAB
and
Racing and Wagering Western Australia
.

Related Quotes

Company Profile

That figure represents about 64 per cent of the market and in revenue terms is down 5.2 per cent in the past year in a market that has only grown about 0.1 per cent overall.

Racing Victoria said the decline was mainly with the interstate TABs; ­Tabcorp’s Victorian TAB operations at least are holding steady.

By contrast, the corporate book­makers, including the likes of
Sportsbet.com.au
,
Sportingbet
,
Centrebet
,
Tomwaterhouse.com
,
Betfair
and Tabcorp’s
Luxbet
have grown their ­revenue by 16 per cent to slightly more than $1.59 billion.

They now have market share of about 32 per cent having, with Betfair, gained market share of 4.4 per cent in the past year.

About $2.2 billion in wagering, or 44 per cent of the market, was ­undertaken via digital channels, with much of the growth driven by betting using mobile phones.

On-course betting down

Wagering turnover for on-course bookmakers was worth about $176 million in the same year; a decline of 18 per cent in revenue terms. They have slightly less than 4 per cent of the overall market.

Saundry said the sport needs to work towards growing wagering revenue overall, which would be beneficial to racing as a whole. “That’s our real ­challenge, because we are in a joint ­venture with Tabcorp here in Victoria, and we collect fees of 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent of turnover from the corporate bookmakers for our race fields fees," Mr Saundry said.

“That combined, accounts for 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the income the industry collects, so it’s absolutely critical to our success."

The organisation will release its strategic plan for the next three years towards the end of this week.

As well as infrastructure and ­integrity matters, the strategic plan will focus on ensuring the different ­Victorian racing venues – Melbourne Racing Club, Victoria Racing Club, Moonee Valley Racing Club and Country Racing Victoria – work closely together to promote the sport.

Spring Carnival a success

Despite some controversies, including a violent incident in the mounting yard on Oaks Day, and Melbourne Cup winning trainer
Gai Waterhouse
being the subject of a stewards’ inquiry regarding the medical treatment of a horse on Cup Day, Mr Saundry said the Spring Carnival overall has been a ­success for Victoria. “We think the number of eyeballs consuming the sport – be it on free-to-air television, at the course and through digital channels – has increased this year."

Ratings for
Seven West Media
have been mixed in the past two months, with audiences for some race meets down compared to last year but Mr Saundry said that he was pleased with the coverage.

“We have a base to build from for next year and some of the innovations Seven has used, such as jockey cam and rails cam, I have received very good feedback about."